10 Comments on “A September Moment”

1. She can hit.

   As Lopsided Cat can attest.

2. Same bat, too!

3. Not with that grip she won’t.

   ;^)

4. She needs to relax her right arm a little and bring up her left arm. But then, who am I to say? She can probably hit better than I can. Having had $25,000 of orthodontic work done on my mouth makes me even more scared of the ball than I was before.

5. If only she could pitch, maybe she’d have gotten the September call-up from the Reds.

   HAHAHAHAHA

6. A lovely photo, but an aluminium bat??

   Heresy, Sir, Heresy!

   Although I will admit that aluminium bats are better for hitting non-baseball objects such as rocks, croquet balls, etc.

7. With that focus, I believe it. It’s all about keeping your eye on the ball, as they say. Except at pro speeds. Then it’s sometimes technically impossible.

8. Stick with the aluminum bat. As much as it pains the purists, just about every level (including college) uses them now. Also, for young kids, they’re lighter, so it’s easier to swing level & hit the ball when you’re just starting out.

   And for what it’s worth – I agree with Sue: back elbow parallel to the ground = line drives, not ground balls.

   Can you tell I’m teaching my son to hit right now as well? ;-)

9. OK, where to begin, where to begin? First, she needs to concentrate on lining up the knuckles of the first joint of both hands. That will give her wrists a natural pronation that means greater flexibility and a quicker swing. Second, she needs to get her bat “in the slot”. That means she needs to think of the bat as being right behind the middle of her head. If she has her wrists right, that will put her arms in the right position. DO NOT CONCENTRATE ON GETTING HER “ELBOW UP”!!! This particular advice leads to much more trouble then it is worth. If the bat’s in the slot, her arms will be in the right place; i.e. close to her body with her hands back. Third, make sure she has her feet shoulder width apart and that HER KNEES ARE BENT. From the way she is standing, it is obvious that she isn’t doing either of those things. Fourth, get her to stand next to a fence with her back foot about six inches away from it. Then get her to swing. When she can swing without hitting the fence she will have all of the above correct. She will also be swinging a lot faster, with the bat coming up through the zone like it should.

   Oh, yeah, the bat’s may be too big for her. That’s probably why her grip is wrong.

10. Bear in mind, y’all, that the picture is just one snapshot, and was chosen for the overall esthetic value, and may or may not represent Athena’s actual batting style.

    However, I agree the bat’s too big. But she likes purple, and it was enough trouble trying to get her down from the fullsized bat even when it was manifestly too large for her. She’s just ambitious that way.